Earlier this month, McNair’s family announced that the 19-year-old lineman’s death was caused by heatstroke. They have also hired the law firm that represented the family of Freddie Gray, the Baltimore man who died in 2015 after being injured while in police custody, and are exploring their legal options. Durkin, who was at the workout with the rest of the Maryland coaching staff, declined to provide further details of that day while Maryland is still participating in an external review. [Emphasis added.]

Yeah, I can see how the head coach’s presence at a workout that led to a player’s death might be a difficulty. Good luck with that review, fellas.

Speaking of hold my beer moments, North Carolina’s Larry Fedora saw the tempest in a tea pot about Jeremy Pruitt’s character and decided to up the ante for attention at yesterday’s ACC media days with quite the hot take.

North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora questioned the validity of studies detailing football’s role in the onset of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE, a degenerative brain disease found in cases of repetitive head trauma.

It hasn’t been definitively proven that football causes CTE, Fedora said during his appearance at Atlantic Coast Conference media days, but the fact that the connection has been made has impacted how people view the sport.

Fedora also spoke specifically about how rule changes in college football are changing the game, and not for the better. As football goes, Fedora said, so goes our country.

“Our game is under attack,” Fedora said. “I fear that the game will be pushed so far from what we know that we won’t recognize it 10 years from now. And if it does, our country will go down, too.”

Thanks, Obama!

Fedora was just getting warmed up.

Fedora also relayed the following anecdote: He spoke with a general – military branch unknown – and asked what made America’s forces the strongest in the world. It’s because the U.S. is the only country that plays football, the general replied, per Fedora.

“I think because of the lessons you learn in the game of football relate to everything you’re going to do for the rest of your life,” Fedora said. “When we stop learning those lessons, we’re going to struggle.

Has anyone pointed out to the man that the majority of Americans have never played the game, or even watch it? I know, I know… forget it, he’s rolling. The sad thing is that there’s a legitimate argument to be made that the mad scramble to change football rules may be driven more by a desire to avoid litigation than to find things that are legitimately effective in preventing head injuries, but downplaying the CTE risk isn’t a sensible way to make such a case.

Then again, maybe this was just an attempt at shouting “squirrel!” to distract from something else.

Needless to say, there’s been plenty of angst in certain corners of Dawgnation in reaction to Jack Jake Fromm’s summer injuries, enough that beat writers have felt compelled to write stories reminding us that there’s no rule student-athletes have to be bubble wrapped during the offseason.

Appearing at former NFL head coach Bruce Arians’ Georgia Celebrity Golf Classic at Lake Oconee, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said what Fromm did during his offseason isn’t much different than what he did when he was in college. Therefore, there isn’t any blame to be passed around, especially for an injury that isn’t a big deal.

“We do what we do as kids,” Smart said. “I did the same thing when I was playing. A lot of people do that. I don’t think you live your life scared and worried about that. You want to be safe, you want to take precaution, but you don’t want things like that to control your lifestyle.”

… The NCAA and its member schools are increasingly breaking out marijuana testing from those involving sinister performance-enhancing drugs.

Some test for them separately. Some test for them less frequently. All of it reflects the fact pot is more socially acceptable than ever, and when it comes to sports, it definitely isn’t performance-enhancing.

“I think in five years, [marijuana testing] is going to be gone,” said Christian Dennie, a Fort Worth, Texas-based attorney who has helped negotiate, challenge and write drug policy at professional and amateur levels.

It’s certainly trending that way. Four years ago, the NCAA and its members made their own statement. The penalty for a positive marijuana test was cut in half from a year to six months.

Societal attitudes about pot are changing. The laws in many states are changing to reflect societal attitudes. While that’s not leading to any great changes in recruiting at the moment…

Colorado State compliance director Shalini Shanker says she has three marijuana dispensaries within a square mile of her home. Recreational marijuana was legalized in the state in 2014.

“A lot of people thought we would get an increase in recruits because marijuana was legal in Colorado,” Shanker said. “All the sudden we’re going to get these five-star recruits who want to come smoke weed.

“That has not been the case.”

… I wonder what will be the case if five years from now the SEC is the only P5 holdout regarding marijuana testing. Hopefully some enterprising reporter will ask Michael Adams for an opinion then.